All-Russian National Identity on the Orthodox-Islamic Frontier

All-Russian National Identity on the Orthodox-Islamic Frontier


Ryzhova S.V.

Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Center for the Study of Interethnic Relations, Institute of Sociology FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia Silica2@yandex.ru

ID of the Article:


This research was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 20-011-00241.


For citation:

Ryzhova S.V. All-Russian National Identity on the Orthodox-Islamic Frontier. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2020. No 8. P. 51-61




Abstract

The article analyzes trends in the formation of national all-Russian identity in various ethnic and religious environments using the example of research in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The republics can be considered as “dense” spaces of the Orthodox-Islamic cultural borderland, creating a dialogue between the two most prominent religious traditions in the public space with a high significance of the corresponding ethno-confessional identities. It is noted that the Orthodox discourse fixes Russian ethnicity as the basis of all-Russian national identity, while the Muslim one seeks other models for its defining. The existing ethno-confessional borders do not prevent the formation of a single field of intercultural integration in the republics. The inclusion of Islamic cultural elements in the all-Russian representative culture could contribute to the actualization of the national identity of autochthonous Muslims. At the same time, the spontaneous integration of the Islamic cultural component into the all-Russian representative culture is hindered by public fears associated with the risk of possible radicalization and politicization of Islam.


Keywords
all-Russian identity; Orthodox; Muslim; cultural and religious borders; interethnic relationships; cross-cultural integration

References

Barth F. (1982) Introduction. In: Barth F. (ed.) Ethnic Groups and Boundaries. The Social Organization of Culture Differences. Oslo; Bergen; Tromso: Universitetforlaget: 9–38.

Drobizheva L.M. (ed.) (2016) Interethnic Accord as a Resource of the Consolidation of Russian Society. Moscow: Institut sotsiologii RAN. (In Russ.)

Drobizheva L.M. (2018) Russian Identity: Discussions in the Political Space and Dynamics of Mass Consciousness. Polis. Politicheskie issledovaniya [Polis. Political Studies]. No. 5: 100–115. DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2018.05.09. (In Russ.)

Gavrilov Yu.A., Shevchenko A.G. (2008) Russian Muslims in the Field of Russian Identity. In: Gorshkov M.K. (ed.) Russia in Reform: Yearbook [collection of scientific articles]. Iss. 7. Moscow: Institut sotsiologii RAN: 289–303. (In Russ.)

Gorshkov M.K., Petukhov V.V. (eds) (2015) Russian Society and Challenges of the Time. Book Two. Moscow: Ves Mir. (In Russ.)

Kashaf Sh.R. (2015) The Construction of National Identity in non-Muslim Polities: Role of Islamic Religious Institutions. Islam v sovremennom mire [Islam in the Modern World]. Vol. 11. No. 1: 103–118. DOI: 10.20536/2074-1529-2015-11-1-103-118. (In Russ.)

Kozlov N.D. (2008) Political Cultures of Russia’s Regions: an Equation with Many Unknown Quantities. Polis. Politicheskie issledovaniya [Polis. Political Studies]. No. 4: 8–26. (In Russ.)

Ryzhova S.V. (2019) Religiosity, Ethno-Confessional Identity and Problems of Interethnic Accord. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 2: 49–58. DOI: 10.31857/ S013216250004006-9. (In Russ.)

Shumilova E.A., Khodzhaeva E.A. (2006) Special Characteristics of Muslim’s Attaining Russian Civic Identity in Tatarstan. In: Magun V.S. (ed.) Civic, Ethnic, and Religious Identities in Modern Russia. Moscow: Izdatelstvo Instituta sotsiologii RAN. (In Russ.)

Tenbruck F. (2013) Representative Culture. Sotsiologicheskoe obozrenie [Russian Sociological Review]. Vol. 12. No. 3: 93–120. (In Russ.)

Tishkov V.A. (2019) Russia’s Identity: Grand Challenges. Vestnik Rossijskoj akademii nauk [Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. Vol. 89. No. 4: 408–412. DOI: 10.31857/S0869-5873894408-412. (In Russ.)

Social Doctrine of Russian Muslims. (2017) Moscow: Izdatelskiy dom “Altyn Miras”. (In Russ.)

Tajfel H., Turner J. (1986) The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In: Worchel S., Austin V.G. (eds) Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chicago: Nelson-Hall: 7–24.

Content No 8, 2020